Ships and Canons
by BananaBabe903
Summary: In the Shinobi world, duty was held above all else. Clans would intermarry with another to keep the blood pure.They were the first of their generation. At the ripe age of twenty,Neji and Hinata Hyuuga, first cousins, were betrothed. And the rest of the Konoha 12 knew it would soon be their turn too. Hyuugacest, NejiIno, NaruHina, KibaHina, KibaIno, ShikaIno
1. Chapter 1

Hi! I'm not a huge fan of Hyuugacest, but I found this topic very interesting. I wanted to portray a somewhat realistic picture of what the clans do and did back then. I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I did, effing Sasuke would be back by now.

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"In the Shinobi world, duty was held above all else. Clans would intermarry with another, to keep kekkai genkai in their family, to keep the blood pure. And so it went on for generations and generations."

"They were the first of their generation. At the ripe age of twenty, Neji Hyuuga and Hinata Hyuuga, first cousins, were to be betrothed."

"And the rest of them knew, soon it would be their turn too."

* * *

When Hinata Hyuuga first envisioned her wedding, it was held at the Hyuuga complex, surrounded by her family and the Konoha Twelve, plus Sai, and the Lady Hokage, and Kurenai sensei, and Iruka sensei, and all of them all together. She would wear her traditional dress, and would be covered head-to-toe in jewels—merely for the sake of tradition. She would bow in front of her new husband, grinning widely from ear-to-ear. He'd run his fingers through his blond locks and whisper, "Yes," when asked to marry her.

That Sunday morning, her dream had come to an abrupt halt.

Her father, Hiashi, had called her and Neji to the room he held clan meetings. They were surrounded by various elders, all with the same lavender eyes and blank expressions.

"N-nissan, do you think we're in trouble?" Hinata had whispered to Neji, who walked in step beside her. Whilst her hands were shaking from nervousness, Neji appeared calm and serene, like the ocean before a tide.

"We're okay."

She thought for a split second she saw his eyebrows crease, but it quickly disappeared as they entered the room. They bowed, and sat down.

"Hinata, Neji, we have called this meeting to inform you of an important decision," Hiashi paused. He turned towards Hinata. "Hinata, you are clan head. You have a responsibility to take over this clan after I pass. You are the next in line. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

Her voice came out clearer and bolder than she had expected it. Hiashi looked slightly surprised as well, before rendering his face emotionless once more.

"That being said, it's your job to restore balance between the Head Family as well as the Branch Family. Unite them into one."

"Yes, father."

He turned towards Neji, clearing his throat. He looked slightly nervous, for reasons neither of them knew. "Neji, you are of the branch family. You are, my brother's son. You are patient, intelligent, cunning, and tactical. Of course, you will be responsible for assisting Hinata, in her endeavors as clan leader as well."

Neji bowed. "I understand."

"That being said," Hiashi continued. "You must protect her in every way. To connect the two families together again, certain things have to be done. And since you're young adults now-," He paused, and glanced at Neji then Hinata. "Do you two understand?"

Hinata looked towards Neji. Why was a whole meeting called for this? Neji knew of his duties, Hinata knew of hers. She knew that he would help her—after all, he was one of the best shinobi the Hyuuga clan had to offer. He was a Jonin, and smart, and everything he was supposed to be.

"If it's okay, with Hinata-_sama_, of course." It was Neji who spoke. He carefully looked at her, expectedly. There was something behind his lavender eyes—something Hinata knew even the Byakugan wouldn't be able to interpret. It wasn't pity, or anger—emotions she had seen in his eyes before. Instead, it was more like…

_Concern. _

"Of course I'm alright with Neji-_nissan_ protecting me," Hinata said. She said a little louder, "But I can protect myself too, Father. There's a reason I've made Jonin. I'm ready to inherit the title of clan leader, whenever you are ready to give it up."

Her father was quiet for a moment, so Neji intercepted the silence with, "Hinata-_sama_. Your father, and the rest of the clan is suggesting, rather explaining, that it is my duty and yours, to become betrothed. To each other."

It took a while for this information to sink into Hinata's mind.

"B-betrothed? To Neji-_nissan_?"

* * *

Ino Yamanaka was a loud drunk. She knew it too. Perhaps she inherited it from her teacher, the Lady Hokage, or perhaps it was just in her nature—but after every mission, the Jonin and Yamanaka clan head would be seen with her drinking buddies, the Inuzuka boy and the Weapon Mistress, laughing loudly and swigging a bottle of _sake_.

"So, Kiba-_kun_-," she began, wrapping her arm around his neck. "How's Hinata?"

Kiba, although his face was already red from drinking, blushed, and pushed her away. "Oi, shut up, will ya Yamanaka? She's already in love with the freaking Town Hero. One who saved all of Konoha." Kiba angrily bit into a stick of _dango_. "If I were the hero, she'd be all over me."

Tenten snorted. "'Course, Inuzuka. Not even Hinata can resist the stench of _dog_." Ino and Tenten howled with laughter, clanking their drinks together.

Kiba growled. "What about you Tenten, huh? How's that crush on the Hyuuga prodigy going? I heard he made it into Anbu." He glugged down his drink.

Ino perked up. She loved hearing stories of the Hyuuga boy from a buzzed Tenten—the stories were always interesting, if not amusing. She had learned things about him—Ino had always assumed Neji was a cold-hearted, upright prodigy child, but according to Tenten, he was a _tsundere _cross-dresser who liked to role-play with Lee.

She shivered. She never knew the Hyuuga to be _that _way. She was hoping that Tenten was drunk, and didn't realize the connotation the word _role-play _suggested, and that she meant something entirely else. Even if the Hyuuga _was _like that, she expected the role play to be with someone better… not the green tight-wearing coconut head.

"Chh, yeah, he probably thinks he's a total badass now," Tenten rolled her eyes.

"A hot badass," Ino murmured.

"Yeah, a total hottie," continued Tenten, acknowledging Ino's statement. "I mean, if I had my way with him…"

"What would you do, Tenten?"

Ino spun around, seeing Neji enter the tiny end of the corner bar, eyebrow cocked on his god-like face of perfection.

Tenten flushed a deep shade of red. "N-Neji!" she stuttered, standing up, almost knocking over her drink.

"I know what I would do." Ino stood up, and walked over to the Hyuuga carefully. She tugged at the end of his sleeve, swooning. Her breath was in his ear. "I would steal your team, and you and me would go somewhere far away and do some training… _alone_."

He pushed her away. "Careful, Yamanaka," he glowered. The Yamanaka girl stood in front of him, swaying slightly from left-to-right. She stunk of alcohol, and dog. He looked over at the Inuzuka boy, who was scowling at him. They were supposed to be the head of their clans, yet they acted like drunken teenagers. Which they technically were. And what was he doing here again?

"What's wrong, Neji-_kun_?" Ino pouted. "You look a little _tense_."

Neji rolled his eyes. "Inuzuka," he called over Ino's shoulder. "Her flirting is tiring me. Can we switch places?"

Ino punched him—hard, Neji would like to add—in the shoulder in a way that was supposed to be girly and flirtatious. "You suck, Hyuuga."

He ignored her and made way for Tenten, grabbing her arm. "Tenten, I need to speak with you. _Now_."

Tenten looked flustered. "A-ah, okay, Neji."

He dragged her out of the bar, leaving an annoyed Ino and a pissed-off Kiba.

Ino sauntered over to Kiba, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket. "So, Inuzuka," she cooed in a low tone. "Just you and me, what are we supposed to do now?"

Once after a mission, Ino and Kiba had found themselves ridiculously intoxicated—they had played a drinking game, and since neither of them had a particularly high alcohol tolerance, they both quickly became drunk. When Ino awoke the next morning, she found herself entangled in bed-sheets and in Kiba's arms. This soon developed into occasional rendezvouses. Neither of them had emotions towards each other, rather their relationship was comrades that friendly flirted. Nothing more, nothing less. Until of course, they started sleeping with each other.

Kiba smirked wolfishly. "You that easy, Yamanaka?"

Ino returned his smirk with a teasing grin, and whispered in a low, seductive tone, "Try me."

* * *

"Neji, what is it?" Tenten crossed her arms over her chest. She had dealt with the Hyuuga boy's random actions for nearly ten years, and had learned how to approach it.

He had pulled her away from the bar and into a corner of the wood, near where they used to train while they were under Team Gai. "Tenten," he began. "Hinata-_sama _and I are betrothed."

Tenten couldn't remember what happened next—all she knew is she felt her stomach leap up into her throat and out onto the Hyuuga's shoes. And the rest of the world went black.

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I hope ya'll enjoyed!:) Please review and subscribe!


	2. Chapter 2

Hi guys! Sorry about the wait... and THANK YOU to my three reviewers! I'm glad you guys are interested:) This chapter is for YOU GUYS! You rockXD

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"Tenten, why do you look so un-youthful today?" Lee's eyes widened with concern as he stared at his best friend. Tenten had woken up after spilling her guts all over the Hyuuga's shoes in her house, with Sakura tending to her. Sakura had scolded her about drinking, but said nothing of Neji. Maybe Sakura didn't know.

Since it was nearly noon, and Gai sensei was out on a mission, Tenten had invited Lee to lunch. _Her treat_, she insisted. Lee obliged, and the two were sitting in Ichiraku's. Lee had delved into his ramen, but Tenten picked at hers. She still couldn't get the Hyuuga's words out of her head.

_"Hinata-sama and I are betrothed."_

"Tenten?"

Tenten turned her attention back towards the spandex-clad boy. She shoveled some ramen down her throat a little too quickly, and the heat scalded her tongue.

"Careful, Tenten! The ramen is burning with unrelenting passion!"

She rolled her eyes playfully at her friend. "Lee, I'm fine. Aren't you a _little _too passionate today?"

Lee cast his eyes at his ramen. "Just trying to make you feel better, Tenten."

She gave him a light smile, and patted him on the back. "Thanks, Lee. I really appreciate it."

They ate for a few minutes in silence before Lee asked, "What do you think, of Neji and Hinata's arrangement?"

Tenten stopped eating. She stared at her half-empty bowl, and began fiddling with her chopsticks. The one question she had been delaying all night and morning had finally been asked to her. She didn't get to react to Neji's testimony the night before, unless puking all over him was a testimony. Since Sakura didn't ask her about it, the question was just sort of left to dwell in the darkest part of Tenten's mind. Her stomach knotted.

"I…I guess if that's what they want. I'm happy for them." She forced the words out of her mouth, smiling one of Sai's fake smiles at Lee. "I mean, what else can we do at this point right?" she poked a fish ball with her chopstick. "We can't do anything about it, can we?"

Lee nodded. "Very wise words, Tenten." He lifted up his bowl and slurped the last of the broth. He set his bowl down and thanked Ichiraku behind the counter. He turned his attention back towards Tenten.

"We should go congratulate Neji. He wasn't at practice this morning. I suppose he was at another clan meeting."

Tenten nodded, feeling a little green again. "Yeah. I guess we should." It was the right thing to do after all. She liked Hinata and she… _liked _Neji, she supposed, and the two were a good fit for each other. Both were fair and polite, and they were both from the Hyuuga clan. What was she thinking? Thinking she could end up with Neji… She wasn't even a Hyuuga. She didn't belong to some clan, either. There would be no political marriage for her. She sighed, leaning on her palm. If only she had been born in a different family. If only she had been born a Hyuuga.

"Tenten, are you ready to go?" She snapped her attention back to Lee, who had stood up.

"Mmm." She hopped off the chair and walked in step next to her friend. At least, she _hoped_ she was ready.

* * *

"Mmmm…" Ino woke up with the sun hitting her face through the blinds. She recoiled slightly. Her head hurt like a mother, but she was starting to get used to the side effects of a wild night out. She sat up, rubbing her head. The other side of the bed was empty, and there were no signs of the motel room having occupied more than one. One of the good things about having relations with a ninja, she supposed.

She sat up, and walked bare-foot to the bathroom. Upon analyzing herself in the mirror, she saw dark circles underneath her usually bright blue orbs. Her long blonde hair was mussed—the Inuzuka boy's fault, of course, having run his fingers through it throughout the night—and there were a few scratches from the mission before. Other than that, she looked like the same old Ino Yamanaka.

Not caring what time it was, she turned on the hot water in the shower, and after a minute, stepped in. Her father would probably just think she was still out on her mission or something. Not that he would notice. He was used to her being out at night, either on missions or "sleeping over at Sakura's", as she told him. He probably wouldn't care if she came home at three in the afternoon again.

Letting the warm water run over every inch of her body, she had time to contemplate. The first person that came to her mind was the Hyuuga boy. He had walked into the bar and demanded to speak to Tenten. Running soap over her arms, she wondered what he needed to speak to her about.

Maybe a mission, or something or another. But she wondered why he had so quickly rejected her advances. Sure, she was under the influence and maybe a little gross from the previous mission. But she was _pretty_. She was _charismatic_. Any man in his right mind in Konoha, hell, _anywhere _for that matter, wouldn't have rejected her advances.

But then again, she considered the fact that maybe Neji Hyuuga _wasn't _in his right mind. She squirted shampoo into her palms, and lathered it through her hair. She would just ask Tenten later what Neji had talked to her about. Or maybe she thought flirtatiously, she'd ask the Hyuuga himself.

* * *

Neji Hyuuga was not in his right mind. Tenten… _releasing _her guts all over him was just a precursor to the rest of the night and the following day. After he had dragged her to Sakura's apartment, with no word of explanation, he went home and had to change. He thought that maybe he would ask Hinata to make it the first priority of the Hyuuga clan to develop a jutsu that removed stains from white fabric.

Though he had tried to sleep, images of that night kept popping into his head. Of everything, of everyone. What everyone would think that he was marrying _his cousin_. Of course, in the older generations it was not uncommon for people of the same clan to marry. But nowadays, clans were intermixing left and right.

Shikakaru-_senpai _did not marry Mikoto _simply _because she was a Nara by birth. She wasn't. Inoichi-_senpai _did not marry his wife _simply _because she was an Inoichi by birth. She wasn't. Hell, the Yondaime Hokage and his wife the Jinchuuriki hadn't even been from the same clan. Times were changing. Why couldn't the Hyuuga too?

Of course, he had nothing against marrying Hinata. Hinata was a beautiful girl, kind, intelligent, and could definitely hold her own. But the thought of _touching her _and _being intimate _with a girl he thought of as nearly his _sister _made him a bit uncomfortable. Actually, not just a _bit_.

It made him _very, very _uncomfortable.

Besides, didn't she still have that crush on that Naruto boy? Neji didn't know how he'd feel about his wife loving another man. Though he had no romantic interest in her, he _was _possessive of what should've been _his_. But Hinata shouldn't even have _been _his.

He knew he wasn't thinking rationally. At all. In any rational case, this would be the _best_, _political _marriage. It would actually be perfect. They would marry inside their clan, keep the bloodline, and also reunite the Head Family and the Branch Family. Everything would be perfect.

Except Neji couldn't get the idea out of his head that maybe that's _not _how it was supposed to be. Who was the clan to say whom he could and couldn't marry? Sure, defying them would mean possibly kicked out of the clan and disowned. But they wouldn't do that, not as long as he had the eye prowess they so longed to keep safe.

He thought of all the things that could happen. Naruto, the future Hokage, could fall in love with Hinata, and shun the Hyuuga clan because he couldn't handle the pain. Or, Neji could fall in love with another. Or—

He had mentally slapped himself. When he had he gotten _so melodramatic_? It must've been those dramas he had been forced to watch by Gai sensei, who insisted that it was good if shinobi's had an emotional outlet.

After not being able to sleep, another clan meeting had began at six a.m. sharp, removing all opportunities Neji had of sleeping in. Then his uncle had wanted to spar with him privately, then this, then that… he was beginning to lie down on his futon around five o'clock for a quick nap when someone knocked on his door.

"Neji-_nissan_? A girl is here to see you." It was Hanabi, Hinata's sister's voice. He groaned quietly. He wondered what Hanabi thought of the whole situation of her sister marrying her cousin.

"Send her away, I am resting," he replied, shutting his eyes once again. He heard mumbling and a feminine voice urging Hanabi to press him. A few seconds later, Hanabi spoke again.

"Uhh, she's kind of persistent."

"I said send her away."

"She has flowers."

"I said send her-,"

"Neji Hyuuga! I brought you Yamanaka _flowers_, the best flowers in all of Konoha and you _refuse _me?" Ino threw the door open, and stomped in. Neji sat up, opening his eyes. He glared at Hanabi.

"I thought I told you to send her-,"

"Now you're just being rude." The defiant blonde crossed her arms over her chest. She was clad in her usual purple garb, though it barely covered much. To a normal man, he might have been tempted or lustful looking at her—but Neji, Neji was not shifted by such _simple things_. He was a _Hyuuga_.

He bit his lip. A long, blonde bang covered one of her orbs, and he was tempted to sweep it out of her eyes. He wondered why such a tasteful-looking girl like herself covered her best feature with her hair. Her other blue orb shown brightly, showing him that she wasn't truly angry with him. Just a bit annoyed.

"I heard that you're engaged to Hinata."

"Hn."

She narrowed her eyes at him. He felt a headache come along in his right temple.

"I heard that the clan told you to do it."

"Hn."

"I heard you agreed."

"Hn." Where was she getting all this information from?

"I heard Tenten threw up over your shoes."

"Hn."

"That's probably because she was wasted and in love with you."

Neji gaped. Ino smirked. "She… Tenten is not in love with me," he said, firmly. That was absurd! Why would his teammate, one of his closest friends be in love with _him_? The idea itself was blasphemy! If Ino was a Hyuuga, she'd already be pinned to the ground and exiled! Well, maybe not, but still. Tenten was _not _in love with him.

Ino, much to his annoyance walked over and plopped down next to him on his futon. "Sure, she isn't." She rolled her eyes, then smiled in a way Neji couldn't describe—almost as if she was a cat stalking her prey. "Wanna know what else I heard?" her face was only inches from his own.

Neji didn't reply, knowing that she would tell him anyways. It was better to pretend that he wasn't interested.

"I heard Hyuugas are amazing in bed," she smirked. "So with the two of you it must be _out of this world-_,"

"HANABI I SAID SEND HER OUT OF MY ROOM."

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I hope you guys enjoyed!:) Please review, and feel free to leave constructive criticism! hehe:)


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